For just a moment, try to ignore those news alerts on your phone. Take a deep breath and join us in the Kiva universe–a kind and compassionate corner of the internet (some may say parallel dimension) where people help each other improve their lives, every day. Here in the Kiva universe millions of people carry out small acts of kindness all the time.

Last week, Kiva celebrated local businesses in the city of Oakland with its first-ever Made in Oakland event. Located in the beautiful outdoor space in front of City Hall, 45 local entrepreneurs showed off their unique businesses, selling everything from vegan cupcakes to repurposed footwear...Continue Reading >>

Mixing family and business can be a risky prospect, but the 3 sisters running B.E.N. Fisheries make it look simple. They are united by the same vision for their fish farm, the first of its kind in their district in Zimbabwe, and a strong work ethic.

They even named their business in a way that felt equitable to everyone: B.E.N. is a combination of their 3 names– Beauty, Ericah and Netsai.

Chancey and Dennis at their farmer’s market stall (photo from Chancey’s page on Kiva)

This is the first in our series spotlighting small, independent businesses in the U.S. in celebration of National Small Business week.

On just about every Saturday from May through October, you can find Chancey and her husband Dennis at their stall under a banner that reads ‘Banana Manna’ in the Greenville, South Carolina farmer’s market. Chancey has been selling her acclaimed banana bread at...

After working as a successful account manager in the office furniture industry, Shawn decided he needed to do something that truly “fed his soul.” From a very early age, he had been interested in food, especially desserts. Desserts had always taken center stage at his family’s parties when he was growing up. Shawn’s mother had supported this interest by encouraging him to get his hands into ingredients and transform them into sweet creations.

Headquartered in Nairobi, Junior Achievement Kenya is a subsidiary of Junior Achievement Worldwide, one of the world's largest and fastest growing nonprofit organizations committed to preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs for success in a global economy.

Since 1999, Junior Achievement Kenya has reached at least 175,000 students with the support of 17,000 volunteers and 14 branches throughout the country.

It's been a long time coming, and Kiva could not have asked for a better partner to launch our first loans with in Brazil! By providing underserved and entrepreneurial young people with credit, training and mentorship, Banco Pérola is making incredible strides in supporting those that should to be at the heart of Brazil’s current social transformation.

With next year’s World Cup right around the corner and the 2016 Olympic Games sprinting to Rio de Janeiro at the speed of light, Brazil’s rapidly expanding economy has been in the international... Continue Reading >>

For just a moment, try to ignore those news alerts on your phone. Take a deep breath and join us in the Kiva universe–a kind and compassionate corner of the internet (some may say parallel dimension) where people help each other improve their lives, every day. Here in the Kiva universe millions of people carry out small acts of kindness all the time.

Last week, Kiva celebrated local businesses in the city of Oakland with its first-ever Made in Oakland event. Located in the beautiful outdoor space in front of City Hall, 45 local entrepreneurs showed off their unique businesses, selling everything from vegan cupcakes to repurposed footwear...Continue Reading >>

Mixing family and business can be a risky prospect, but the 3 sisters running B.E.N. Fisheries make it look simple. They are united by the same vision for their fish farm, the first of its kind in their district in Zimbabwe, and a strong work ethic.

They even named their business in a way that felt equitable to everyone: B.E.N. is a combination of their 3 names– Beauty, Ericah and Netsai.

Chancey and Dennis at their farmer’s market stall (photo from Chancey’s page on Kiva)

This is the first in our series spotlighting small, independent businesses in the U.S. in celebration of National Small Business week.

On just about every Saturday from May through October, you can find Chancey and her husband Dennis at their stall under a banner that reads ‘Banana Manna’ in the Greenville, South Carolina farmer’s market. Chancey has been selling her acclaimed banana bread at...

After working as a successful account manager in the office furniture industry, Shawn decided he needed to do something that truly “fed his soul.” From a very early age, he had been interested in food, especially desserts. Desserts had always taken center stage at his family’s parties when he was growing up. Shawn’s mother had supported this interest by encouraging him to get his hands into ingredients and transform them into sweet creations.

Headquartered in Nairobi, Junior Achievement Kenya is a subsidiary of Junior Achievement Worldwide, one of the world's largest and fastest growing nonprofit organizations committed to preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs for success in a global economy.

Since 1999, Junior Achievement Kenya has reached at least 175,000 students with the support of 17,000 volunteers and 14 branches throughout the country.

It's been a long time coming, and Kiva could not have asked for a better partner to launch our first loans with in Brazil! By providing underserved and entrepreneurial young people with credit, training and mentorship, Banco Pérola is making incredible strides in supporting those that should to be at the heart of Brazil’s current social transformation.

With next year’s World Cup right around the corner and the 2016 Olympic Games sprinting to Rio de Janeiro at the speed of light, Brazil’s rapidly expanding economy has been in the international... Continue Reading >>

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